LOWELL -- A few specifications for a Boston developer's proposed 466-bed private dormitory in The Acre had changed but the community's lack of support for the project remained mostly the same.

In July, William Fideli Investments withdrew the plan for the former Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union site at 650 Merrimack St., after neighbors criticized the project as incompatible with The Acre neighborhood.

WFI tweaked and resubmitted the proposal to the city's Planning Board, which addressed the project during its meeting Monday night at City Hall.

Planning Board member Joseph Boyle had described the architecture as a steel monolith, while UMass Lowell officials objected to the construction of another private apartment building marketing itself as a dormitory for university students.

In its new proposal, WFI says it addressed many of those concerns and created a design more in harmony with the neighborhood.

"The Union Lowell, named in recognition of Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, will likewise have a positive economic and visual impact on this neighborhood," WFI wrote in its project plan.

Several local union members were on hand during Monday night's meeting to express support for the project, suggesting it was irresponsible for the community and city officials to reject the proposal.

"These are the first people that ever came to us and offered a union project and its going to put 100 people to work," said Joe Grenham, vice president/field representative of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Union Local No.

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3 Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island. "How can anyone be opposed to it? The Acre needs a jump start and they're offering a jump start and people are opposing this?"

One of the key criticisms of the project was the number of parking spaces included in the design. The original plan included 193 parking spaces, about 90 of which were located on the actual property.

The new proposal has 263 parking spaces, including 93 on site. WFI has also reached a 20-year agreement to lease 120 spaces from Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church several blocks away. The city would provide an additional 50 spaces in garages, according to WFi's submission to the Planning Board.

The company has also agreed to contribute $800,000 to the construction of a new parking garage in The Acre, which the Lowell Housing Authority has advocated for.

WFI representatives also revealed a second option during Monday night's meeting. Option two would include adding another level to the six-story structure to accommodate an extra level of parking. The second option would have five stories of housing and two stories of parking.

With the extra level added, 198 parking spaces would be available on site, to go along with the 50 spaces provided by the city for a total of 248.

In option two, the $800,000 would be taken off the table and used to address development of the building's extra level.

WFI has also changed the design of the building by making its exterior more aesthetically pleasing and adding retail space, according to its filing with the Planning Board. The company estimates that the project will bring an additional $25 million into Lowell's economy over its first 10 years through taxes, payments to local companies, and increased student spending.

But the same coalition that opposed the first design again lined up against the proposal's tweaks on Monday night.

Maxine Farkas, an artist and resident of the Western Avenue Studios expressed concern of the project going the way of The Edge Merrimack River, a 414-bed private dormitory across from Lowell High School, which has struggled to fill its rooms.

As UMass Lowell representatives have said, the city already has enough housing to meet its students needs.

Farkas also described the proposal as a fortress, unsuitable for the area.

"I've worked for union contractors, I've worked for non-union contractors, I understand the need for jobs," Farkas said. "I also understand that over the long-term, this neighborhood needs to be respected, and no matter what accommodation for parking is made, this is still out of scale to the neighborhood and it's too dense of a project for the neighborhood."

The project requires site plan approval and a special permit from the Planning Board. The Board's decision will be revealed after a public hearing on the proposal set to take place during the Feb. 22 meeting.

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